For the third time in as many months, Apple has just launched a bunch of new products during an online-only event. We've already seen new iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches in recent weeks, and now it's the MacBook's chance to shine.
'One more thing' isn't a phrase Apple uses lightly. Indeed, it last used the words in 2017 when introducing the iPhone X – the iPhone's biggest design jump in a decade. Both of Apple's current MacBook Pros are among our best laptops for graphic design, but we could now have met their replacements.
Apple has revealed its brand new custom silicon chip, called M1. The company says this will completely transform every MacBook that uses it, offering significantly higher performance and high efficiency thanks to the world's fastest CPU core.
Apple showed us a lot of impressive graphs during the event and told us, "this is a big deal – what you are seeing is extremely rare". In short, the new Apple-designed chip is promised to bring a level of performance never before seen on the Mac.
And Apple has just revealed the first devices to pack the new chip. First up is the MacBook Air. Although it features the same design (above), Apple says the new chip "will redefine what a thin and light notebook can do".
From managing RAW files on Lightroom to working with multiple 4K video streams, the new MacBook Air is incredibly powerful – and the improved efficiency gives it its longest battery life ever. Apple says the new MacBook Air is faster than 98% of Windows laptops currently available – not bad for a non-Pro model.
Apple also announced a brand new MacBook Pro (above), which it calls "more powerful and more Pro", and "the ultimate expression of what the M1 chip can do". With up to 2.8x CPU performance and 5x the graphics speed, it's by far the most powerful MacBook Pro ever – and it features the longest ever MacBook battery life, at a whopping 20 hours.
For creatives, this could be the ultimate MacBook. Its 8-core GPU in M1 is the most advanced graphics processor Apple has ever built, bringing the world’s fastest integrated graphics in a personal computer.
The third machine to gain Apple's M1 chip is the Mac Mini, Apple's tiny desktop computer. The Apple M1 chip takes the do-it-all desktop "into another dimension," with up to 3x faster CPU performance and 6x faster graphics.
And if you can't wait to get your hands on these incredible machines, there isn't long to wait – they're available to order from Apple right now:
That said, the current MacBook line-up is incredibly powerful, and certainly future-proof. Check out today's best deals below, and remember to swing by our Apple Black Friday page for more brilliant offers.
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